What does protein do? I'm no expert. All I can do is give you tidbits of what I'm finding online that I think are interesting. One thing I found is that your body requires more energy to process protein than it does to digest carbohydrates. Essentially that increases your metabolism.
(see http://www.bodybuildingforyou.com/bodybuilding-supplements-guides/fat-loss-tips-4.htm for more information)
Listen, I am by no means a big "meat person" or anything like that. Eating more protein for me is going to be difficult. I'm not going to start counting every gram of protein in every little thing I put into my body (at least I don't think I am...hahahaha!), but I am going to make a conscious effort to add more protein into my diet.
Where can we find low fat sources of protein? Check out the link I pasted below for a full list. Some of the top foods to eat for high protein are tofu (13 grams protein), cottage cheese (14 grams protein) and lentils (9 grams protein).
Here are some tips for adding more protein into your diet (from webmd):
8 Ways to Pump Up the Protein
If you'd like to start including more lean protein in your daily diet, try these eight simple tips:- Take yogurt with you to the gym and enjoy it as a post-workout booster.
- Make your breakfast oatmeal with milk instead of water.
- Snack on fat-free mozzarella cheese.
- Use a whole cup of milk on your cereal.
- Try smoked salmon or one of the new lean sausages for breakfast.
- Take along a hard-boiled egg for an easy snack.
- Munch on edamame beans at meals and snacks.
- Choose round or tenderloin cuts of meat.
Wow.. that's some great information Dana! Now I'm gonna throw in my four cents.. (inflation).. two years ago we took a Cancer Cooking Class and learned so much about foods and cancer.. how what we eat can either promote or ward of cancers. I would highly recommend the book we were given by Dr. Neal D. Barnard, MD for some great information on foods that are SO good for you and that can help keep cancer at bay. Lentils.. are a GREAT source of protein.. 1 cup cooked are 17.9 grams.. and now look at this one.. Tofu..(firm) 1 cup is 39.8 grams of protein.. humm.. a GREAT source of protein.. Tofu is also an excellent source of calcium! The other thing I wanted to mention was the importance of getting fiber in ones diet daily. In plain terms.. fiber literally washes out the bad cells in your body that want to form into cancer cells. So as we get older.. it's so, so important to get that fiber in our diets. Flax is a great start.. or flax seed oil...
ReplyDeleteYou guys need to start teaching your own class. Usually when I hear people talking about this stuff, I feel like they are speaking in a different language...but this all makes perfect sense. Very interesting information from both of you...keep it coming!
ReplyDeleteAnother thing...what are you doing up at 4:30 in the morning, blogging? Go to bed! LOL Sleep is another key component in keeping your body healthy! Muah!
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